The biological carbon cycle is an area of growing international scientific interest: in particular, the role of fish and the potential impact of fishing on the ecosystem’s carbon function. In 2024, ICES Workshop on Assessing the Impact of Fishing on Oceanic Carbon (WKFISHCARBON) identified key gaps in biological carbon cycle knowledge related to fish and fishing. Like most natural resource sectors, the fishing industry produces greenhouse gas emissions, and many incentives and programmes aim to mitigate or limit them. However, the fishing industry could also impact carbon sequestration through food webs by removing fish or altering the sea floor.
Research approaches are rapidly developing to investigate the processes involved in the biological carbon cycle, including the role of fish and other marine animals and the impacts of fishing. Increased understanding of the roles of fish and other marine animals will enable researchers to assess the impact of different management decisions on ecosystem carbon services and to advise policymakers accordingly. Additionally, important questions remain concerning potential trade-offs between carbon, food security, economics, fishing, and cultural values.
This session provides an opportunity to review the latest research on the carbon function of marine food webs, focusing on fish and the impacts of fishing on carbon. It will provide a baseline for state-of-the-art biological carbon cycle research related to marine animals, fisheries, and society.
The three main topics to be addressed are as follows.
Topic 1. Marine animal function in the carbon cycle and potential impact of (i) fishing commercial stocks on carbon sinks, (ii) bottom-trawling on carbon stores in the seabed, (iii) fishing vessel emissions.
Topic 2. Experimental, empirical, and/or analytical advances for researching the role of marine animals and fisheries in the biological carbon cycle.
Topic 3. The societal impacts of incorporating carbon and the biological carbon cycle into fisheries management.
